Graceful, Joyful, and Effortless: How To Plan a Wedding Without Stress
Have you ever helped a friend or family member with wedding preparations? If so, you’ve seen firsthand how messy things can get. So many people to accommodate, so many details to get just right, and so much stress to make everything perfect. Emotions run high and the whole event becomes something to get through rather than a day of celebration.
Perhaps you vowed then and there that your wedding will be different. Well, we promise you: It can be. With advance planning and excellent helpers, you can avoid the drama associated with high-stress weddings and make your wedding day a positive memory for all involved, but most importantly, for you and your spouse-to-be!
Twenty Mile House offers guidelines for each stage of planning your wedding and explains how choosing our venue is the best way to keep the stain of stress off of your special day.
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Is It Normal To Be Stressed Planning a Wedding?
Stress is a regular companion to couples planning their wedding. After all, it’s an event you can’t simply redo if you mess it up. But, if you start planning well in advance of the wedding date, you can plan slowly and carefully, giving yourself time to accommodate changes and emergencies.
The more time you have to plan, the less likely you will be to make avoidable mistakes, and the more you will be able to bask in the joy of anticipated union. Focus on each task, one at a time, and it won’t feel like you have so many moving pieces to handle all at once.
Contact Twenty Mile House to learn more about how we can make your wedding planning stress-free.
Planning Your Wedding Solo? Here’s What the Countdown Might Look Like
If you don’t have the luxury of an extremely involved mother or mother-in-law who attends to every last detail of your wedding, consult this timeline so you don’t miss critical aspects of your matrimonial machinery.
12 Months Before the Wedding
Establish your budget: Once you’ve done this, you’ll have a framework within which you can work for the rest of your planning.
Make a guest list: You’ll need to choose a venue with capacity for the number of guests you wish to invite.
Decide on the theme and level of formality: This will depend largely on your personalities and values.
Choose your venue: The location of your wedding will dictate most other aspects of your wedding, such as guest count and style.
Buy wedding insurance: To protect your financial investment, get special events insurance.
Choose your caterer: Pick someone you know makes great food and whom you trust to deliver.
9 Months Before the Wedding
Begin shopping for your wedding dress: Leave time for any necessary alterations to be made.
Book hotel rooms for guests: Save your guests the trouble of finding a place to stay and ensure this is no obstacle to their attendance.
Create a wedding website: Put all the information relevant to your guests’ attendance in one place to avoid having to repeat it ad nauseum. Include how to RSVP, what to wear, where to stay, and a registry link. You might also like to take engagement photos and put them on the site.
Send save-the-dates to those on your guest list: Or just refer them to your wedding website.
Begin preparing invitations: Spend some time crafting your guests’ first impression of your wedding.
6 Months Before the Wedding
Make a wedding registry: Consider what you would really like to have in your home as newlyweds.
Choose wedding party attire that matches your theme: Give your wedding party enough time to gather the pieces of their ensemble.
Choose a florist: Get recommendations from friends, Instagram, or your venue coordinator.
Book the venue for your rehearsal dinner: The groom’s family traditionally pays for this, but if your family doesn’t operate this way, you’ll need to decide how this will be handled.
Hire musicians and a lighting technician: Consider which instruments will accord most with your theme and the mood you want to cultivate, and the kind of lighting that will make your pictures turn out well.
Order items that you’ll need to rent: These include items for seating, decoration, etc.
Hire a wedding officiant: Who will be marrying you? A leader of a place of worship, or someone else? Be sure they are available on the set date.
3 Months Before the Wedding
Make final bookings: This may include the honeymoon, transportation for you and your partner, and transportation for your guests.
Secure the groom’s tuxedo: Whether you rent or buy, you’ll need to be sure it fits comfortably.
Begin premarital counseling: Find a third party person you and your partner both trust to help you prepare psychologically for married life.
Choose the cake: Hire a baker who can create the cake that pleases you and deliver on your wedding date.
Buy wedding rings: You’ll also want insurance for these.
Schedule a trial for hair and makeup: Don’t wait until the day of to see how your hair and makeup look on you.
Order wedding invitations: If you’ve gone with a graphic designer for these, you’ll need to review them before sending them out. Be sure addresses and names are spelled correctly, and include instructions for how to RSVP.
Plan your menu: Finalize what will be served at the reception.
Write your vows and select readings: Your officiant might have these already prepared for couples he marries, but if you decide to write/choose them yourselves, give it some serious thought.
Meet with your officiant: This is an important step to make sure everyone shares the same expectations about what will happen on the wedding day.
Begin crafting DIY decor: If you’re not ordering all the decorations, begin making them with enough time to correct mistakes and ensure you can fulfill the vision you had in mind.
Send the wedding (and rehearsal dinner) invitations: RSVPs will be made much easier if they’re done digitally, but you may opt for the traditional method, in which case you’ll need to include a self-addressed, pre-stamped envelope with the invitation and RSVP cards.
1 Month Before the Wedding
Figure out your undergarments: Be sure they're not showing through your newly fitted dress.
Get your marriage license: Check your state’s laws to confirm you and your partner fill out all the necessary paperwork to become official. You, your officiant, and a witness must sign the document.
Hammer out final details: Make adjustments to your floral preferences and song selections, and send them to your florist and musicians. Have a walk-through at your venue to avoid stumbles on the wedding day.
Create a seating chart and make place cards: This will also help the day go smoothly. Be thoughtful about whom to seat with whom.
Pay your vendors: Keep track of how and when you’ll pay your photographer, florist, musicians, caterer, officiant, etc.
Saying ‘Yes’ Was Easy — Planning Should Be Too: Here’s How Twenty Mile House Makes It Happen
Even spaced out over a year, preparing for a wedding may seem like a lot of responsibility, but it’s also immensely exciting. It all leads up to one of the most special moments in your lives. Twenty Mile House would be honored to help carry the burden of planning while making the time leading up to your nuptials peaceful and joyful.
All-Inclusive Wedding Packages
When you choose Twenty Mile House as your venue, you can automatically cross many of the items off your to-do list. Besides giving you exclusive use of our property for the ceremony and guest accommodations for up to 54 people, we also provide:
Wedding coordination team
DJ
Caterers, cake/dessert maker, and bartender
Flowers
Photographers
Service staff for set-up and cleanup
Furniture and seating
Lighting
Event tents
All-in-one planning software
No Need To Coordinate Vendors
Make your life so much easier by streamlining your wedding plans. Instead of going from here to there, making and waiting for phone calls, and wondering whether your hires will follow through, rest in the satisfaction of knowing:
All your plans are in one place
Your vendors are trustworthy
They’re all working together to make your wedding day amazing
On-Site Accommodations
Our guest houses, luxurious and affording gorgeous views, can accommodate up to 54 people. You and your guests will enjoy a small vacation in these historic style homes.
No Noise Ordinances
As you and your guests celebrate, you don’t have to hold back in fear of bothering neighbors with noise. Twenty Mile House sits on 200 acres of private property — plenty of space for you to spread out and make merry.
You don’t need to worry about rushing your wedding festivities, either. Our late curfew permits your celebration to continue as late as you like.
A Venue That’s Entirely Yours
When you book Twenty Mile House for at least a two-night stay, the whole place — including seven sites for guests spread throughout the property in beautifully scenic areas — is available to you for the duration of your stay. Of course, you are welcome to stay longer!
A Setting That Naturally Brings Calm
Twenty Mile House is the perfect venue for people who love nature. Nature looms large all around you here, beautifying your wedding and gracing everyone with inspiring sights and sounds. This venue is suited for the following themes:
Forest weddings
Mountain weddings
Outdoor weddings
Garden weddings
River weddings
What evokes a sense of peace and tranquility more strongly than stunning natural landscapes and charming rustic lodgings? It’s all here!
No Need for a Wedding Planner
Save money you might otherwise spend on a wedding planner. When you choose Twenty Mile House, our expert wedding planner’s service is included in the price of the venue. Get help making the most of your stay here by following a carefully crafted itinerary.
Your planner’s recommendations do not just serve for the period of your stay, but from the moment you begin your investment in Twenty Mile House. In addition, you will have access to our wedding planning tool (Aisle Planner) so that planning is easy and organized.
Ready To Start Planning Your Wedding Day, Your Way? Let’s Create Something Beautiful Together at Twenty Mile House
Twenty Mile House’s history goes back nearly 200 years. What began as a stagecoach stop and trading post now hosts some of the most beautiful weddings imaginable. Make your wedding significant in more ways than one by choosing a venue with such a rich background.
Our professional team is dedicated to taking the stress of wedding planning off of you. We orchestrate all the hectic logistics for you by connecting you with our trusted vendors and providing everything you’ll need for the wedding day.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can make your wedding planning a breeze.